1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to engagement between an electrical plug and a charge port on a vehicle.
2. Background Art
A battery electric vehicle (BEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), and a fuel cell vehicle (FCV) generally include a high-voltage storage battery. In operation, the storage battery provides electric power to operate various components in the vehicle, such as an electric motor for driving traction wheels on the vehicle. The storage battery has a state of charge (SOC) and generally includes a plurality of electrochemical cells. The cells store electric charge for the battery, and the SOC of the battery is based on the amount of electric charge in the cells. However, the SOC of the storage battery can decrease when the storage battery provides electric power for the vehicle.
The SOC of the battery decreases when the storage battery loses electric charge or discharges. When the storage battery discharges, it may be desirable or necessary to charge the storage battery. Consequently, a power source external to the vehicle is often used to charge the storage battery to increase the overall SOC of the storage battery.
Various connector assemblies have been proposed to electrically connect the storage battery to the power source for charging the storage battery in the vehicle. For example, the connector assembly may include a vehicle-side connector housing and vehicle-side terminals. The vehicle-side connector housing is mounted on the body of the vehicle. The vehicle-side terminals are enclosed in the vehicle-side connector housing and are connected to the storage battery of the vehicle. In addition, the connector assembly may include a power-source-side connector having a power-source-side connector housing and power-source-side terminals enclosed in the power-source-side connector housing. The power-source-side connector housing mates with the vehicle-side connector housing so that the power-source-side terminals can connect to the vehicle-side terminals.
After mating of the power-source-side connector housing and the vehicle-side connector housing, a person may not want to supervise or attend to various issues or situations that may arise during charging of the battery. For example, the person may not want to attend to ensuring the power-source-side connector and the vehicle-side connector remain properly mated during charging of the battery. Similarly, the person may not wish to attend to preventing others from interrupting charging of the battery.
After mating of the power-source-side connector housing and the vehicle-side connector housing, theft prevention or deterrence may be desirable or necessary. For example, preventing or deterring theft of a cord set, which may include the power-source-side connector housing and power-source-side terminals. Furthermore, it may be beneficial to prevent or deter theft of electric power outputted from the power-source-side terminals. For example, this may occur at a charging station when a first person leaves the vehicle unattended at the charging station and a second person decides to charge his vehicle using electric power owned by, paid by, or otherwise associated with the first person.